Chazz learns to do the hustle

Published 8:15 am, Sunday, October 7, 2012

This memorable quote from "A Bronx Tale" is one that the movie and one-man-show's writer and star Chazz Palminteri continues to guide his life by.

Over his 25-plus year career in showbiz, the Academy Award nominated actor has delivered standout performances in movies, TV, on Broadway and even as voices in several animated films.

On Sunday, Oct. 7, the Ridgefield Playhouse Film Society's "Lost and Found Film Series" will screen one of the actor's favorite roles, that of the title character in the 2007 film "Yonkers Joe."

After the film, Palminteri and the film's director, Robert Celestino, will be on hand for an audience Q&A.

In "Yonkers Joe," Palminteri plays a card shark living in Yonkers who is a virtuoso at slipping loaded dice into crap games. The film takes an emotional twist when Joe is forced to take care of Joe Jr., his uncontrollable 20-year-old son with Down syndrome.

"What's interesting about the movie is Yonkers Joe was the director's father, so he knew him really well. It was very easy to talk to him about what kind of man his father really was," Palminteri says. "The thing I loved about the role is that it's about these hustlers and you never saw that kind of stuff before. It's not like 'Ocean's 13' or '21,'; this was real underground hustling stuff, so I was very excited to play it and learn some of the tricks myself."

One of the tricks he learned involved throwing the dice and switching them in your hand before the roll.

"These hustlers can do it every time perfect under pressure. I would do it maybe two out of 10 times," he says. "It takes years to get the positioning that good."

Palminteri knew from the moment he read the script that it was a project he wanted to be part of.

"I met with Robert and the more we talked, the more I felt he would be a good director," Palminteri says. "He was terrific. Very willing to share ideas and collaborate on things and didn't feel like he knew everything. If I wanted to share something, he listened, and that's what a good director does."

What attracted him to the role was that it wasn't your typical 'wise guy' or bad guy. He was just a gambler who had a son who was autistic. Palminteri says he looks for characters that are three dimensional with some complexities and flaws.

"A guy like this doesn't want attention but when you have a kid who is autistic, all you get is attention," he says. "Towards the end of the movie, you see how the son redeems his life. The son makes the father a man and the boy makes the father realize what it is to love."

At the Q&A, Palminteri looks forward to discussing the movie and his role, but knows that eventually, the questions will all get around to "Bronx Tale."

"That's the role that made me, so people do get into that and talk about the one-man show or the movie," he says. "This is a really good movie, though, so I'm sure people will have a lot to ask about that."

Although best known for tough guy roles in films like "The Usual Suspects," "Mulholland Falls" and "Pool Hall Junkies," Palminteri has shown diversity with comic parts in "Analyze This," "A Night at the Roxbury" and "Oscar." These days you can even see him on the Emmy-winning comedy series, "Modern Family," where he plays one of Ed O'Neill's best friends. As busy as he is with acting, Palminteri I currently writing two projects and also now hosts his own weekly radio show.

"I got so tired of people asking me advice about the business; How do you write a script? What can I do with my script? What's the essence of acting, so I have a show on Sirius called, 'AskChazz' that airs from 6 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday," he says. "If people want advice on the business or have questions about acting, writing, directing, producing, they can call in and ask."